Comparison

Cadence vs Quick Theory

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cadence

This app helps musicians understand music theory beyond memorization. It offers interactive lessons and ear training games for piano, guitar, and voice, catering to all skill levels. Learn to play with intention and create music more freely.

Highlights
  • Understand functional harmony
  • Live pitch detection
  • Interactive piano
  • Ear training games
  • Courses for all levels
  • Supports piano, guitar, voice
Features
Read full description

Stop memorizing chord names. Start understanding why music moves you. Cadence is for musicians who want more than flashcards. Whether you're picking up an instrument for the first time or you've been playing for years without really understanding theory, this app bridges the gap between knowing and truly hearing. UNDERSTAND, DON'T JUST MEMORIZE Learn functional harmony the way it should be taught. Discover why dominant chords create tension. Hear how extensions add color. Understand resolution, voice leading, and the invisible forces that make progressions feel inevitable. This is theory that transforms how you listen, play, and create. INTERACTIVE FROM THE START Sing a note and see it recognized instantly with live pitch detection. Play chords on an interactive piano. Train your ear with games designed to build real musicianship. Every feature connects what you learn to what you hear. COURSES FOR EVERY LEVEL Beginners build a foundation that actually sticks. Intermediate players finally fill the gaps and understand the music they already play. Advanced learners dive into extensions, modes, and sophisticated harmony that opens new creative doors. PIANO. GUITAR. VOICE. One app covers it all. Switch between instruments, explore different approaches, and develop skills that transfer across your entire musical life. PRACTICAL THEORY FOR REAL MUSICIANS This isn't about passing a test. It's about playing with intention. Improvising with confidence. Analyzing songs by ear and understanding what makes them work. Cadence gives you the foundation to create freely. GROWING WITH YOU Cadence is actively developed with new courses, features, and improvements planned for future updates. Your musical freedom starts here. Terms of Use: https://learncadence.com/tos Privacy Policy: https://learncadence.com/privacy

About

Quick Theory

Features
Read full description

Quick Theory teaches real music theory the way a friendly teacher would: one small idea at a time, with your hands on the answers. TYPE THE MUSIC No instrument needed. You answer with a letter keyboard — A to G, sharps and flats — and quick taps. The piano on screen is your teacher's piano: it plays and shows, you listen and spell. EIGHT COURSES THAT ADD UP • Introduction to Music Theory — the twelve notes through scales, keys, intervals, chords and progressions • Introduction to Music Theory, Part Two — minor for real, pentatonics and blues, inversions, sevenths and cadences • Reading Rhythm — note values, time signatures, and counting that sticks • Ear Training, Part One — from "up, down or same" to hearing a melody's shape and finding home • Chords by Ear — scale degrees, chord colors, bass lines and cadences • Advanced Chord Construction — build any chord in any key, decode any symbol on a chart • Guitar Theory, Part One — the fretboard map, CAGED, barre chords, and your first improv map • Songwriting — verses, choruses, hooks, prosody, and finishing the song EAR TRAINING DRILLS Six configurable drills that build the ear behind the theory: Interval Recognition, Melodic Dictation, Chord Progressions, Chord Qualities, Scale Degrees, and Meter Detection. Set the range, the speed, and the answer surface — solfège or piano — and practice exactly what you're weak at. A TOOLKIT THAT COMES WITH IT Look anything up: Chords, Scales & Progressions, Circle of Fifths, Scale Fingerings, Alternate Tunings. Practice with a Tuner & Pitch Pipe, Metronome, Slow Downer, Piano, Sight Reading, Random Note, and Jam Along — a band that loops while you play over it. Write with Lyric Studio, Melody Helper, Riff Recorder, and Tab Studio, a full guitar tab writer that plays back and exports. MISTAKES ARE PART OF THE PLAN Wrong answers get real explanations — not just "incorrect." Miss the same idea twice and the app changes how it asks. Genuinely stuck? The lesson steps aside, tomorrow it invites you back, and nothing guilt-trips you in between. SPELLING COUNTS A-sharp and B-flat share a piano key but mean different things. Quick Theory is the rare app that teaches you why, gently, at exactly the moment it matters. MADE TO RESPECT YOU No account. No ads. No tracking. Lessons and tools work offline, and your progress, songs, lyrics and recordings sync through your own private iCloud — only you can reach them. Speed Rounds review what you've learned, a Weak Spots quiz targets what you keep missing, and a lenient streak celebrates showing up and forgives a missed day. Whether you sing, play, produce, or just want to finally understand what "the key of F major" means, Quick Theory gets you there a few minutes at a time. ONE MEMBERSHIP, EVERYTHING INCLUDED Quick Theory Plus unlocks every course and every tool, starting with a free trial. Subscribe monthly or yearly, or buy once and keep it forever. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends; manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Cadence4 screens
Quick Theory4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cadence at every 5 days against Quick Theory's every 3 weeks. Cadence also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cadence sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Quick Theory sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cadence ships an update every 5 days, Quick Theory every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Cadence versus Quick Theory: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCadenceQuick Theory
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size188 MB87 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel CarvajalHANOCH YOSEF LIB

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Cadence

Subscriptions2
  • Cadence Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Cadence Premium Yearly$39.991 Year
3 purchases

Quick Theory

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Cadence free?
Cadence is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Quick Theory free?
Quick Theory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cadence or Quick Theory have ads?
Neither Cadence nor Quick Theory shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cadence or Quick Theory?
Cadence ships an update every 5 days, and Quick Theory every 3 weeks. Most recently, Cadence was updated on October 24, 2026 and Quick Theory on October 19, 2026.

Other comparisons